Return To Leslie Park

A Return To Ann Arbor’s Leslie Park Golf Course

At the recommendation of a loyal reader, I made a return visit to Ann Arbor’s Leslie Park Golf Course today.

I’m glad I did.

My 2006 Leslie Park review noted “just ok” conditions, with “dry and weedy” fairways. Tee boxes, I wrote “needed some work.” My admittedly dim memory was of a challenging course with a brutal walk.

In 2022, I found Leslie Park to be a well-conditioned, beautiful course. The restoration work that the City of Ann Arbor has done along Traver Creek is absolutely beautiful, with a multitude of flowering, natural grasses.

Leslie Park is no less challenging, though. The 413 yard par 4 tenth hole, for example, is as tough a hole as I’ve seen. The approach shot must come in high and stop short to clear the creek and its natural grasses while holding the obscured green. My playing partners, who were regulars, told me that there’s no good way to play the hole. They just plan on losing a ball every time out. I had a really good drive and was able to lob a hybrid at the green. I missed left and my ball came to rest on the upslope of one of several large mounds on that side.

Anything less than that great drive, and I would have needed to lay up short of the creek.

The walk was also tough, but not as much as I remembered. I am sure, however, that is thanks to the CaddyTrek battery powered robo cart that I’m now using. It does all the heavy lifting.

In fact, I saw quite a few walkers at Leslie with robot caddies.

I’ll do a full re-review of Leslie Park in due course. For now, I think it enough to say that it is one of the best munis I have ever played.